Thoughts and comments of a parent of 3 students in Baltimore City's Public Schools.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Another week down

Well, I haven't been doing so well with the resolution to post more often. Sorry. It's related to some insane deadlines at work that I would tell you about, but I'm afraid there would be casualties from people dropping dead out of boredom from reading my blog. I want to be clear, I don't find my job boring, but after 25 years of doing this, I have found that just about everybody else finds the work life of an engineer very boring to listen to. So, surf ice it to say that work has been very busy lately and I barely have time to read my favorite blogs, much less do any posting.

My weight/exercise/health resolution has been going better, and I've got to say it seems like a more important resolution. On to specifics. Copying my goals from last week's post:

Drink coffee black - Third week in, still 100% compliance

Weigh in everyday - Third week in, still 100% compliance, logging in to iPod & Nutrisum

30min exercise at work every day - not quite 100% with all this stinking snow and the days I worked from home. Strangely it's very hard to take breaks from work when I'm working at home. Might be related to the 3 kids home from school because of the snow.

Follow the Wii Active 30 day challenge - Another bit of a slippage although I have been getting some exercise from shoveling snow off the deck. Next week I'll do better.

Track and work on the following 5 points - tracking every daya. Three servings of whole grains - a little hard, 90%b. Five servings of vegetables and fruits - every day 100%c.Five glasses of water - every day 100%d. No snacks within 2 or 3 hours of bed - hardest, about 75%e. Breakfast within 2 hours of waking up - every day 100%

And the results... well, we're talking about a lifestyle change. That will take more than 3 weeks.

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Cast of Characters

In the interest of annonymity, and to keep things from getting akward I'll be using these terms for my kids:

msk - my special kid. Actually they're all special, but this one is receiving special ed services. He has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder & Attention Deficit Disorder and is on the more severe end of the autism spectrum

fcs - fantastic college student

tek - twice exception kid; gifted and learning disable at the same time

ess - elementary school student - all done with that now!

b-d - behavior dude, the behavioral technician that works with msk 10 to 20 hours a week. A service provided through the autism waiver

About this blog

This will be anonymous because schools can be pretty political, but hopefully constructive. My eldest child entered Kindergarten 13 years ago and I figure I've got another 6 to 9 years until my youngest finishes. By this fall between the three children we've been enrolled in six different schools. There have been CST meetings, IEP meetings, PTO meetings, PTA meetings, fund raisers and vast quantities of homework. We are in public schools because we believe that justice starts with a decent free education for all and if I want decent public education being personally involved is the first step.

Glossary and Acronym List

Autism Spectrum - the spread of behaviors that define autistics. The primary areas are difficulties with communication, social interactions and change/lack of order. You can see the official diagnosis criteria here.

CST - Child Support Team, a group (including parents) that meets when a student is having difficulties

ESY - Extended School Year. In our experience, related to special needs kids who go to school over breaks because there will be significant regression in skills over the break if they weren't in a school setting.

FAPE - Free Appropriate Public Education. This is the right of every American child, but is usually a term about creating or finding a learning environment that works for a special needs student.

IEP - Individualized Education Plan. A written plan of goals and ways to achieve them. Typically for special needs students

PTO & PTA - Parent Teacher Organization & Association

SST - Student Support Team, I guess this is the new term that replaces CST